Baxter targets Cup glory
SuperSport United coach Stuart Baxter believes the only way to start on a clean slate in August is to win the Nedbank Cup.
|||Even though he is not entirely responsible for how the season has turned out for SuperSport United, coach Stuart Baxter believes the only way to start with a clean slate in August is to win the Nedbank Cup and finish in the Absa Premiership’s top eight.
Baxter, who replaced Gordon Igesund as Matsatsantsa coach nearly two months ago, was speaking before his side’s away clash to Moroka Swallows, the tail-enders of the National First Division, in the opening round of the cup at Dobsonville Stadium tonight.
SuperSport were expected to still be in the league race having assembled a strong squad under Igesund, a four-time league winner, as the man at the helm.
The narrative didn’t quite go according to script.
The Scotsman, who has had to come in and save the day, has found the going tough, with SuperSport in 11th place and just eight matches left to preserve the club’s record of finishing in the top eight throughout the Premier League era.
The only other team with that milestone is Orlando Pirates.
“In a perfect world, I suppose you would throw down the gauntlet now and say this is what we can look forward to,” Baxter said yesterday.
“Undoubtedly, there will be reinforcements and adjustments in the squad, and the work we are doing now will stand us in good stead as we enter pre-season, where we can do what we do to be automatic, more than it is at the moment.
“And in a perfect world, we can maybe start to show in this cup tie that we will be more than just also-rans in the season ahead.
“I have heard from Stan (Matthews, the SuperSport chief executive) a million times since I arrived that they have never missed out on the top eight.
“I wouldn’t go as far as to say I lose sleep over our log position at the moment, but is it a concern? Absolutely.”
A two-time league winner with Kaizer Chiefs, Baxter said he would not make excuses because he had set personal ambitions to end what had been a disastrous season on a high.
It appears the pressure is also coming from the coach himself, and not Matthews or Khulu Sibiya, the straight-talking club chairman who told reporters at the beginning of the season he would fire Igesund if he didn’t win the Premier League.
“I want the MTN8 to be the first tournament we play in, and not have to deal with the fact that we missed out when the new season starts.
“The only way we solve that is dealing with our defence, where we have given away some crazy goals. And we have to win games, as well as learn from them,” he explained.
“I have inherited the squad mid-season, and coaches better than me, like (Liverpool manager) Juergen Klopp, have also come in mid-season and made little to no difference. “But I think that going all the way in the cup is one way of showing that the players are improving.
“I am not sure how much you can influence the tactics in mid-season, but I certainly think you can influence the structure in the bigger picture.” - The Mercury